streaming

Details of AOL's streaming radio application for the Apple iPhone 3G have surfaced after it was revealed that the application won an Apple design award for "Best Entertainment Application" at this year's WWDC. The free application will be available for the iPhone 3G next month, allowing users to stream 200 AOL online radio stations and 150 terrestrial radio stations over both Wi-Fi and 3G cellular connections.

While news of streaming radio capabilities coming to the iPhone is certainly exciting, personally, the thought of listening to terrestrial and AOL online stations doesn't exactly get my blood … Read more

Disney has begun showing full-length movies online, beginning with Finding Nemo, the studio said Tuesday.

It's the first time Disney has done so, and it's notable as such, but don't confuse the move with a full-on YouTubization of the company. Each movie will only be available for a few days after they air on ABC's Saturday-night TV show Wonderful World of Disney. Finding Nemo, for example, can be watched online through June 13, Disney said.

It's free, but don't expect a full-immersion cinema experience.

The movies are available through a "watch now" … Read more

We've long moaned that there's no such thing as the perfect media streamer. We've tested Apple TV, which is hopeless unless you exist totally in the Apple universe, and even then only if you're a U.S. resident. We enjoyed the DivX Connected system but noted it's far from perfect and, like Apple TV, won't play many formats out of the box. Now we've found another system, called the Popcorn Hour A-100, which promises to do everything we want--and we're properly excited.

For a start, it will play everything. Yes, that's … Read more

In the opening scene of The Player, Tim Robbins' character is meeting with writers who are pitching movie ideas they hope the Hollywood producer will agree to make. One idea is pitched to him as, "It's Pretty Woman meets Out of Africa, without stars."

Applying that Hollywood approach, the latest idea from Blockbuster can best be described as "Netflix meets YouTube, without the convenience." That's basically the pitch Blockbuster Chairman and CEO James Keyes made at his first annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday when he unveiled an in-store kiosk he hopes consumers will use … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Netflix is banking on the belief that streaming movies to people's living rooms is the future.

CEO Reed Hastings said during Netflix's investor day here that he expects the business of renting physical DVDs to peak within the next five years. However, Netflix representatives later said they forecast that DVDs will remain strong for at least a decade.

The company also plans to experiment with pricing, including both increases and decreases.

Netflix, however, is already moving beyond DVDs. Its $99 set-top box for streaming movies came out earlier this month, generally to positive reviews.

Hastings said that … Read more

Earlier today, I sat down with Jasmine France, CNET's Senior Associate Editor of MP3 & Digital Audio and host of the MP3 Insider Podcast, to talk about free online services for streaming music. We've covered all of the ones we talked about in previous posts on Webware (see link dump below), but who knows--you might learn something new.

Also, for information on the legality of sites like these, read this post from CNET News.com's Daniel Terdiman, who digs deep into how these start-ups are avoiding DMCA crackdown to keep your cloud-sourced mixtapes safe and sound.

I've embedded the podcast below. We've also got a live version of the show on video after the break. Feel free to share your personal favorites for music streaming and discovery in the comments.

Links from the show: MixWit (Coverage) MuxTape (Coverage) ThisIsMyJam (Coverage) Pandora GrooveShark lite (Coverage) Songza (Coverage) … Read more

Lala.com has a history of coming up with innovative ideas that don't quite conquer the world. The company is best known for its online used-CD trading service, which is an interesting idea but works well only if you have a large list of CDs available to trade.

It also offers a music "locker" service that allows you to upload your music then listen to it from any computer with an Internet connection...but it only works with MP3 files, so you're out of luck if you've been using (for example) iTunes to rip your … Read more

When it comes to video files, nothing is ever as easy as it should be. Thankfully, VLC media player offers a one-stop solution to the file-format and codec problem for Windows, Mac, and thumbdrives with a portable version. The open-source program supports playback of OGG, MP2, MP3, MP4, DivX, DVD, and what seems like thousands of other file types. In addition, it also can function as a streaming media server.

Though the interface varies from platform to platform, the sparseness of the standard version leaves plenty to be desired. Some skins perks things up slightly, but the program seems to … Read more

uStream is a video-broadcasting platform that lets anyone with a Web cam and a fast connection create their own live video show. It mixes a video stream with user chat, asynchronous commenting, and places for show creators to post archived clips and links to their other work. It's completely free to use and has been a launch pad for people looking to create video shows with no professional equipment or experience required.

What makes the service especially useful is that it blends live and archived footage seamlessly. Users can watch a show as it's happening, or simply go … Read more